Ethiopia plants 350 million trees in one day to combat drought

Ethiopians planted 353 million trees in 12 hours, part of a 4 billion tree-planting campaign to fight deforestation and climate change, Minister for Innovation and Technology Getahun Mekuria said.

A world record was set, according to Mekuria, as Ethiopians heeded Prime Minister Abiy Ahmad’s ambitious plan to roll back years of drought and scanty rains that the United Nations says has left some 3.8 million people in immediate need for assistance.

The Horn of Africa nation started rationing power on May 17 due to low-water levels at the Gibe 3 hydroelectric dam and discontinued power export to neighbouring Sudan and Djibouti.

Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation with 100 million people, had forest cover of just 14 per cent of its territory in 2018, according to the United Nations.

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